THURSDAY, JANUARY 24
DAYS OF THE NEW A decent competitor in the post-grunge race for Pearl Jam- and Nirvana-esque success, Days of the New's 1997 self-titled debut album went platinum on the strength of such singles as "Touch, Peel and Stand," "The Down Town" and "Shelf in the Room." After undergoing several personnel changes, the band released a follow-up album in '99 and it tanked, as did a third disc issued the next year. Singer Travis Meeks publicly battled drug addiction while DotN remained on hiatus from 2002 until '05, when the frontman announced his sobriety and reactivated the band. Days of the New is reportedly working on a new album. (Tamiami Bar, St. Petersburg)
DOWN BY FIRE w/CEREPHESIS/PIG PEN/CROOKED EDGE Down By Fire's barbed brand of pop-punk teems with measured angst, proving both melodic and vigorous. The Phoenix quartet comes to town in support of its freshly minted album, Reignition. (Transitions Arts Gallery at Skatepark of Tampa)
LOVE PIECE w/FUNK US/BISHOP WAYNE Lakeland's Love Piece churns out a mellow amalgam of rock, hip-hop, funk, jazz and gospel marked by singing, rapping and spoken-word numbers. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
BATTERY: METALLICA TRIBUTE BAND w/ATTICA With the real Metallica busy finishing its Rick Rubin-produced, as-yet-untitled album due out later this year, die-hard fans in need of a fix must settle for the tribute band experience. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
SPONTANEOUS HABIT Sarasota's own Spontaneous Habit, those purveyors of trip-hop, acid jazz and dub-tinged funk, are headed to O-town this weekend to compete in the Bodog Battle of the Bands regional semifinals. Before they go, you can wish 'em luck at the release shindig for Like Minded People, chanteuse Shannon Fortner and company's second full-length album. It's an earful of the band's signature groove, a downbeat fusion that's evolved ever so slightly upward since landing them Best New Artist honors in Sarasota Creative Loafing back in 2004. (Esca, Sarasota) —Amanda Schurr
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25
PINE BOX BOYS w/BLIND BUDDY MOODY/SOME DANCING SKELETON The San Francisco-based Pine Box Boys perform delightfully subversive bluegrass and dark, throwback country that's rife with tales of woe and murder ballads. (Dave's Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg)
VERA VIOLETS w/MILITARY JUNIOR/DRY COUNTY/NEW LAND/DJ N8 Specializing in spooky, psychedelic garage-rock, Tampa's Vera Violets perform in celebration of their new album, Dirty Rainbow. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
POETRY N' LOTION w/JORAN SLANE/ACHO BROTHER/A.LEP + CHANNING DEREN/GERI X/DJ MINI HORSE New World regulars Poetry N' Lotion return to their favorite venue for what will surely be a crowd-pleasing presentation of jammy jazz and rock-informed bluegrass, featuring mostly instrumental originals peppered with zany covers. Auditorium frontman (and CL employee) Joran Slane takes the stage in support of his richly emotive, recently released solo disc, Martyr. The outstanding acoustic guitar and drum duo Acho Brother and acclaimed singer/songwriter Geri X are also on this superb lineup of local talent. (New World Brewery, Ybor City)
DAVID ALLAN COE The sole member of the Outlaw country movement with prison time on his resume, the controversial DAC had hits in the 1970s and early '80s, with titles like "You Never Even Called Me by My Name," "Willie, Waylon and Me," "Longhaired Redneck" and "The Ride." He also wrote Tanya Tucker's smash "Would You Lay with Me (in a Field of Stone)" and Johnny Paycheck's blue-collar anthem "Take This Job and Shove It." Dismissed in the mid-'80s by the Nashville establishment, Coe reemerged as a Southern rocker, discovering Warren Haynes and putting the guitar great next to him on stage — the Allman Brothers' ax man appears on Coe's recommended 1997 live album, If That Ain't Country. (Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg)
CHRIS MCCARTY BAND w/BIRD STREET PLAYERS Gainesville's Chris McCarty Band offers rootsy, Ben Harper-esque rock buoyed by the namesake frontman's assured vocals and charismatic stage presence. Skipper's regulars of late, the band typically draws a mostly student crowd. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
ANCHOR & BRAILLE w/ERIN SOLARI/TOBY BONAR/JOHN GOLD/THE ICARUS ACCOUNT The solo side project of St. Petersburg's Stephen Christian (lead singer for Christian-emo hitmakers Anberlin), Anchor & Braille finds the famed frontman offering compelling Americana heavy on gauzy atmospherics. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
CHAD AND JEREMY It's pretty freakin' impossible not to bob your head and think happy, wistful thoughts when listening to "Summer Song," that Muzak-ready pop confection used so memorably in Wes Anderson's Rushmore. This weekend's two-night stint is your chance to catch the harmonious tunesmiths live, some 40 years after they topped the charts as part of the British Invasion and, cooler still, had their voices stolen by Catwoman Julie Newmar on Batman. (East Village Cabaret, Lakewood Ranch) —AS
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26
MATCHBOX TWENTY w/ALANIS MORISSETTE/MUTE MATH When Rob Thomas' poppy solo debut album, ...Something to Be, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in 2005, it appeared the singer's days with his old rock band Matchbox Twenty might be over. Not the case. The post-grunge outfit that took shape in Orlando more than a decade ago and went on to sell millions of albums has returned to the road for the first time in four years. Touring behind the best-of Exile on Mainstream, Matchbox Twenty will likely perform all those hits — "3 a.m.," "Push," "Bent" — that dominated the airwaves in the late '90s and early '00s. Another one of the '90s' biggest stars, Alanis Morissette will be on hand to serve up faves from her monster debut disc, Jagged Little Pill, and probably tunes from subsequent, less successful releases. New Orleans' Mute Math offers keyboard-driven indie-rock with an experimental bent that might prove too much for Matchbox Twenty's nostalgia-seeking pop audience — but should elate more open-minded attendees. (St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa)
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA w/JOHN RALSTON/ALL GET OUT Atlanta rock quintet Manchester Orchestra had a banner year in 2007, its excellent, self-released debut album, I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child, landing the band a distribution deal with Sony. Led by 21-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist Andy Hull, the group's appeal reaches well beyond the high-school/undergrad crowd thanks to his smart, passionately delivered lyrics about maturing, mortality and faith issues. (Hull's dad is a former pastor.) I'm Like a Virgin judiciously alternates between full-throttle, crashing guitar numbers and quiet, acoustic cuts that are equally forceful. For my interview with Hull, see p. 51). (Orpheum, Ybor City)
TAYLOR SWIFT Only 18 years old, Swift is that rare young country star who writes the majority of her own material, including "Tim McGraw," one of several hit singles culled from the Grammy-nominated artist's self-titled debut disc that came out in late '06. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
WMNF's POP GOES THE WORLD MNF has drafted local artists Never Project, Mind Static, Brent Rademaker (of Beachwood Sparks), The Crash Mitchell Quartet and Giddy-Up, Helicopter! to cover their favorite '80s hits. Jeremy Gloff hosts the event along with MNF DJs Mike B. and Scott Imrich. No word on whether Cabbage Patch Kids and Rubik's Cubes will be given as door prizes. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
XAVIER RUDD A singer/songwriter (and multi-instrumentalist), Australia's Xavier Rudd performs earnest confessional ballads that should speak to fans of neo-hippie strum-pop. His latest album, White Moth, peaked at No. 13 last year on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 27
A.K.A.'s This Philly five-piece gooses loose, shouted-vocal pop punk with keyboard work that often recalls the Farfisa organs heard on '60s garage rock. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS Hailing from deep in Louisiana, the Ramblers entertain with fiddle-laced Cajun music. (Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa)
SICK OF IT ALL w/MADBALL/DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR/WISDOM IN CHAINS Hardcore punks Sick of it All have been inspiring mosh-pit mania since the mid-'80s. (State Theatre, St. Petersburg)
MONDAY, JANUARY 28
VILLAGE PEOPLE Mad props and lavish prizes to anyone who can name the three original members of the Village People still in the group — OK, they are: Felipe Rose (Native American), Alex Briley (Soldier) and David Hodo (Construction Worker). (Of course I looked it up.) The Village People burned fiercely for about two years, 1978-1979, during which they placed a handful of camp disco hits on the charts and, for some reason lost on me, into the larger culture. "Macho Man" and especially "Y.M.C.A" still hang on as nostalgia nuggets. The group's initial appeal came from adopting "macho" stereotypes that supposedly appealed to gay men. That trick won't be so easily pulled off three decades later. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater) —Eric Snider
BETHANY AND RUFUS A folk duo with a jazz sensibility, singer/guitarist Bethany Yarrow (daughter of Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary) is joined by cellist Rufus Cappadocia. (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30
AYCH One of the chief members of Tampa rap crew Umbrella Corporation and host of Empire's weekly open-mic night on Wednesdays, Aych unveils his new album, A Long Way Home, at this gig. The disc finds the witty rhymer unleashing fierce brags ("Cowboy") and horny odes to the ladies ("Like You"). (Empire, Ybor City)
ERIC TAYLOR An often-overlooked member of Texas' renowned collective of highly literate singer/songwriter greats, Taylor influenced such Lone Star luminaries as Steve Earle and Nanci Griffith with his cinematic tales of drifters and despair. Taylor's new album, Hollywood Pocketknife, features more gritty originals and a riveting cover of "Highway Kind," penned by his old pal Townes Van Zandt. This is a house concert — to attend, e-mail Gloria at [email protected]. (House Concert, Tampa)
FOXY SHAZAM w/KARATE HIGHSCHOOL/PEACHTREE A refreshingly wacky alt-rock band from Cincinnati, Foxy Shazam does everything over-the-top: Grandiose keyboards are paired with brazen guitars, while vocalist Eric Nally gleefully shifts between soulful crooning and histrionic screams. (Orpheum, Ybor City)
